Patient records:
Name: Nguyen
Age: 3 months
Nationality: Vietnamese
Diagnosis: Congenital complete cleft lip and palate (left side)
Treatment Hospital: West China Hospital of Sichuan University
From the first sip of milk to the first smile, we are there to support you every step of the way.
Three-month-old Nguyen Van from Hanoi, Vietnam, was born with a complete cleft lip and palate, with a large hole in the roof of his mouth. He was unable to suckle properly, making each feeding a heartbreaking experience for his mother, as milk leaked from his nose and he coughed incessantly. Adding to his parents' distress, the villagers gossiped, considering it an "ominous sign." Nguyen Van's parents desperately wanted to correct their child's defects, but they knew it was far more than just stitching up his lip; it was a marathon of sequential therapy that would last until his teens, including cleft lip and palate repair, speech therapy, orthodontics, and even jaw surgery. In Vietnam, finding a team capable of performing the entire sequential therapy is extremely difficult.
Ruan Wen's parents found us through an international medical aid organization. Our craniofacial deformity repair consultant team immediately initiated a "green channel" for cleft lip and palate sequential treatment after assessment. We recommended the Department of Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery at West China Hospital of Sichuan University. This center is an international authority in "multidisciplinary sequential treatment (MDT) for cleft lip and palate," and is particularly skilled in early intervention and full-cycle management starting from infancy.
In the pre-operative phase, our core tasks were "developing a lifelong plan" and "nutritional support." We arranged a remote consultation between Ruan Wen and her family with a team of experts from West China Hospital, including surgeons, orthodontists, speech therapists, and psychologists. Based on the translated images and feeding records, the experts developed a complete timeline from cleft lip repair and cleft palate repair to alveolar cleft bone grafting. Simultaneously, our health consultant provided hands-on video instruction to the mother on how to use a cleft palate-specific bottle, ensuring Ruan Wen received sufficient nutrition before surgery to reach the required weight for the operation.
Ruan Wen arrived in Chengdu at 3 months old. Our coordinator accompanied her throughout the process. The surgery was performed by a cleft lip and palate surgeon from West China Hospital, using the "rotational advancement method," which not only meticulously sutured the cleft lip but also reconstructed the collapsed alar cartilage on the affected side, laying a good foundation for the future shape of the nose.
Post-surgery, the hospital's nursing team guided the mother on how to care for the wound and prevent the baby from scratching. Ruan Wen's wound healed well, and he finally had a complete smile. But this was just the beginning. We established a "lifelong follow-up file for cleft lip and palate" for him. After returning to China, we coordinated with speech therapists at local partner institutions to provide remote speech training guidance during Ruan Wen's critical period of speech development, following a plan developed by experts at West China Hospital. Our system will provide timely reminders for subsequent treatment milestones such as cleft palate repair surgery and bone grafting. Through cross-border, comprehensive support, we not only repaired Ruan Wen's "cleft in smile" but also ensured that he can speak clearly and smile confidently like a normal child.